Chiefs vs. 49ers: Breaking Down San Francisco's Game Plan
The San Francisco 49ers got back on track with a much-needed victory in Week 4 over the Philadelphia Eagles. Now the task will be to keep that positive momentum moving forward as the 49ers host quarterback Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.
The reunion between Smith and his former team will kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS and will feature the 2-2 49ers facing off against the 2-2 Chiefs who blew out the New England Patriots at home 41-14 on Monday Night Football.
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Perhaps Kansas City is surging after its impressive victory over New England on Monday. Perhaps San Francisco had some ugly moments—especially on special teams—in its win over Philadelphia.
But the important thing to remember is that the 49ers will have the luxury of playing at home at Levi's Stadium against a Chiefs team that has been equally as inconsistent.
San Francisco will look to keep things going against this AFC West foe in what promises to be a challenging task.
Let's break down what head coach Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers have in store for the Chiefs when the two franchises face off in Santa Clara.
Maintaining the Positives
Heading into Week 4, the 49ers were the most-penalized team in the NFL and had been subject to some costly calls that had unquestionably hindered San Francisco's two losses in the young season.
After four weeks, San Francisco retains its hold upon that title.
In Week 4, the 49ers committed a total of 10 penalties for 80 yards—still not a good trend—but at least these calls did not involve the type of calls we had witnessed a week prior against the Arizona Cardinals. There were no unnecessary-roughness or unsportsmanlike-conduct calls against San Francisco in Week 4.
Are cooler heads prevailing? Let's hope so.
There still is a concern about penalties moving forward however. As Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee points out, the 49ers are still leading the league in delay-of-game penalties after four weeks. In 2013, the 49ers had 11 delay-of-game calls. Currently, San Francisco has four.
Let's hope that trend does not continue.
| Week 1 @ Dallas | 11 | 78 |
| Week 2 vs. Chicago | 16 | 118 |
| Week 3 @ Arizona | 9 | 107 |
| Week 4 vs. Philadelphia | 10 | 80 |
| Total | 46 | 383 |
But let's return to a positive focus. In a way, Week 4 was a throwback performance for the 49ers. The defense held the high-flying Eagles offense to a mere 213 yards, intercepting quarterback Nick Foles twice and sacking him once, per Scott White of CBS Sports.
All of Philadelphia's points came from either its defense or special teams units—a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, a Malcolm Jenkins 53-yard interception returned for a touchdown and a Darren Sproles 82-yard punt return that found the end zone.
Yes those mistakes were ugly, but at least San Francisco's defense proved capable of limiting the potent Eagles offense.
It was nice to see the 49ers pass rush—so lacking up to that point—put some pressure on Foles, which certainly assisted in hindering Philadelphia's offensive attack. We'll break that down in a bit, so keep it in mind moving forward.
On the offensive side of the ball, San Francisco returned to its bread and butter—Frank Gore and the running game.
Gore rushed 24 times for 119 yards and also assisted with a 55-yard touchdown reception. Running the ball gave the 49ers a decisive edge in the time-of-possession battle—42:17 compared to the Eagles' 17:43.
Want to stop a high-scoring offense? Don't let it get on the field.
All of this will be crucial against a Chiefs team that has scored 34 and 41 points in Weeks 3 and 4 respectively.
Maintaining the Ground Game
Kansas City's defense currently ranks No. 21 in the NFL in rush-yards against (466). In comparison, this unit ranks slightly higher in pass-yards against—No. 13 with 886 yards against.
The 49ers have shown how to win ballgames using a power-running game that tires out defenses and eats up the clock. Sunday's matchup versus the Eagles is a prime example.
Gore averaged 5.0 yards per carry against Philadelphia, and the 49ers should count upon him and rookie Carlos Hyde equally as much in Week 5.
This isn't just to maintain possession, but also to factor in that Kansas City has done a solid job in rushing the passer this season.
Chiefs outside linebackers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston have amassed 8.0 sacks between the two of them so far in 2014. They'll match up against a 49ers offensive line that has been questionable at best in pass protection—an aspect further described by Bleacher Report featured columnist Dan Mori.
Complicating this will be the injury suffered by right tackle Anthony Davis. Davis hurt his left knee in the second quarter against Philadelphia, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com, and his return in Week 5 is questionable.
If Davis is unable to go, Jonathan Martin would likely be placed in Davis' stead. Martin's performance up to this point has been inconsistent at best, and his pass protection has certainly been lacking.
A simple fix would be to let Gore run the ball.
Let's take a look at Gore's longest run of the day in Week 4—a 28-yard rush at the 6:49 mark of the third quarter.
Gore is lined up behind Colin Kaepernick after the 49ers shifted blockers to the left side of the line. Gore will rush to the left outside the tackles—not typical of Gore's style—but gained thanks to the excellent blocking we see in the next slide.
Following his lead blocker is an essential part to Gore's game, and we see that here. The final block will allow Gore to break out into Philadelphia's secondary. Notice another key block (yellow arrow) from wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
While we should expect the 49ers to utilize a large dose of up-the-middle runs versus Kansas City, these outside routes will force the Chiefs' outside linebackers—Hali and Houston—to respect this added approach to the running game. If Hali and Houston commit to the pass early, outside lanes could open up for Gore.
In turn, this will open up play action for Kaepernick and the passing offense and hopefully thwart any pass-rushing abilities from Kansas City's front seven to a larger degree.
Of course, we can always look for Kaepernick and Gore to get creative in passes out of the backfield as seen in this video.
Pass-Rushing Prowess
It is no secret that the 49ers' lack of pass-rushing presence has hindered their chances early on this season.
But on the fortunate side of things, this element saw some increased production against Philadelphia as San Francisco's defense combined for one sack and five quarterback hits against Foles. Ian Williams, Demarcus Dobbs and rookie Aaron Lynch also combined for three tackles for a loss.
Putting pressure on Smith will be a key factor in limiting his abilities to make plays on Sunday.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been Smith's favorite target in 2014 and leads the team with 18 receptions for 259 yards. We can assume the 49ers defense will place a combination of linebacker Michael Wilhoite and safety Antoine Bethea on Kelce during the game, but pressure on Smith should be the deciding factor.
We also cannot rule out the abilities of wide receiver Dwayne Bowe against San Francisco's secondary, which further emphasizes the need for a pass rush.
Smith has been sacked 13 times in 2014. The 49ers have just five sacks over the same span. But applied pressure is more important than just sacking the quarterback. It is about putting him out of rhythm and forcing him to make decisions earlier than anticipated.
| Week 1 @ Dallas | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Week 2 vs. Chicago | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| Week 3 @ Arizona | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Week 4 vs. Philadelphia | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Total | 5 | 15 | 15 |
Here is where the 49ers need to make Smith vulnerable in combination with containing playmakers like Kelce and Bowe.
Let's take a look at a specific example from last week when pressure forced Foles to throw an interception.
Defensive end Justin Smith will make a move around the outside of Philadelphia's line and closes in upon Foles.
Foles is forced to deliver the ball early as he feels the pressure applied from Smith. Smith gets to Foles just after the throw, logging one of his two quarterback hits from the game.
The pass is underthrown, allowing Bethea to make the pick.
Pressure is key even if the sack totals do not add up.
Stopping Kansas City's Running Game
While Bowe and Kelce are potent weapons upon which the Chiefs offense will rely, one cannot overlook the rushing prowess of backs Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis.
Charles and Davis are averaging 4.3 and 4.5 yards per carry respectively.
It is also worth pointing out that Alex Smith leads the team with an average of 6.1 yards per rushing attempt.
The Chiefs have ran the ball 54 percent of the time during road games this season, so we should figure that San Francisco's defense will see a good portion of running attempts on Sunday.
But the 49ers have once again proved worthy of stopping the run. After allowing Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray to notch 118 yards in Week 1, the defense has given up 46, 84 and 22 yards in subsequent weeks.
The stats now put San Francisco's rush defense at No. 4 in the NFL, with just 279 yards allowed on the ground.
Forcing Smith and Kansas City's offense to become one-dimensional will again be a necessary aspect to the prospects of victory here. The Chiefs gained 207 yards on the ground versus the Patriots last week, and we saw the results.
Overcoming Injuries
This is perhaps the biggest area of need that could factor largely into the 49ers' chances to beat the Chiefs in Week 5.
We've addressed the situation with Davis at right tackle and the likely insertion of Martin.
Also listed on the 49ers' injury report is tight end Vernon Davis, whose back injury forced him out in the third quarter against Philadelphia. Davis needed assistance in getting off the field, per Gutierrez, and his return to action in Week 5 is listed as questionable.
On top of that is another injury facing wide receiver Michael Crabtree, described further by White.
White points out that Crabtree has dealt with numerous injuries to his left foot, and this same foot was aggravated in Week 4.
We don't know just yet if either Davis or Crabtree will be inactive for the matchup versus Kansas City, but it isn't a good sign if the 49ers are forced to move forward without two of their premier offensive weapons.
Cornerback Tramaine Brock has also been absent since leaving with a toe injury in Week 1. Perrish Cox has been filling the void and had arguably his best career game versus the Eagles—logging three tackles, four passes defended and one interception.
Wrapping It Up
It is no secret that the Chiefs are a hot team as of late. After an abysmal 0-2 start, Kansas City had decisive wins over the Miami Dolphins and Patriots in Weeks 3 and 4 respectively.
Thwarting that momentum will be a key factor in ensuring the 49ers maintain their own progress in what has been an up-and-down season.
As was the case in Week 4, San Francisco needs to get back to basics—running the ball efficiently while taking advantage of the Chiefs defense through the air at opportune times. The 49ers defense will also have to continue its efforts against the running game while forcing Smith out of the pocket yet not allowing him to extend plays on his feet.
Pressure and then some will be a necessary aspect to what the 49ers should try and accomplish. It proved invaluable against Foles and the Eagles offense, so why shift from anything different?
This is not the time for Harbaugh and Co. to move away from the strengths that helped build this current cast.
Instead, look for the 49ers to do what they do best as they look for back-to-back wins at the Week 5 mark.
All statistics and records courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.
Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers news, insight and analysis.
Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.
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